Pixar’s Elio Soars on VOD Charts After Theatrical Struggles

Pixar’s 2025 sci-fi adventure film has just shot to the top of the VOD charts following its digital release. When it comes to animated fare for family audiences, Pixar remains a world leader, delivering a regular cadence of charming, funny, and often emotional movies that appeal to viewers of all ages.

Pixar movies like The Incredibles (2004), Monster’s Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), and Toy Story (1995), among others, have all stood the test of time. The studio’s films are often met with critical and audience acclaim, with praise aimed at the deep universal themes interwoven with lighthearted storytelling and stunning animation.

The last few years, however, have seen Pixar struggling to recapture some of its former glory. Lightyear (2022), for example, was released to a more lukewarm reception than is normal for the studio, and it also wasn’t a box office hit. Elemental (2023), too, got off to a rocky start, and reviews for this movie were also somewhat muted.

Last year marked something of a redemption, with Inside Out 2 (2024), produced for Walt Disney Pictures, becoming a massive success critically and commercially. This year, though, another Pixar film struggled to make much of a mark, but it could be about to make a comeback.

Elio Becomes A Top Choice On VOD

After underwhelming in theaters, Elio is now proving to be a popular choice for viewers on VOD platforms. Directed by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi, the film follows a space-obsessed boy named Elio (Yonas Kibreab) as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery through the cosmos where he encounters alien creatures and intergalactic conflict.

The film, which features voice performances from Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Jameela Jamil, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Shirley Henderson, among others, hit theaters on June 20, getting off to an underwhelming start. Despite the positive Elio reviews, the film failed to attract audiences to theaters.

Following its disappointing theatrical run, Elio is now excelling on VOD, with the film currently listed as the number seven title on the U.S. iTunes store, per iTopChart. The film, which is available to rent and purchase on all major VOD platforms, comes ahead of Eddington (2025), Karate Kid: Legends (2025), and Thunderbolts (2025) on iTunes.

What This Means For Elio

Elio looking shocked with OOOOO looking on in Elio

The budget for Elio is estimated to be around $150 million. Using the standard Hollywood rule of thumb, this means the movie could be looking at a break-even point of roughly $375 million. At a $150 million gross worldwide, Elio represents a significant theatrical failure for Pixar and Disney.

The break-even point for a Hollywood movie is generally somewhere around two-and-a-half times the budget.

The fact that the animated sci-fi movie is now proving popular on VOD could help to make up for its poor theatrical performance, but it likely won’t be completely bridging that gap. It’s also worth mentioning that the film only just launched on VOD on August 19, making it no surprise that it’s performing well right out of the gate.

The real test for Elio will be whether it can continue to be a strong performer on VOD in the weeks and months ahead. Considering it sports an 83% critics score and a 90% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie could be poised to remain a hit on digital platforms into the future.